| By U.S. Army Spc. Spencer Case |
CAMP ADDER, Iraq, June 12, 2006 — Behind the front lines of Iraq, the U.S. soldiers of 1st Platoon, 592nd Ordnance Company are “sustaining the line” by making sure units have the ammunition they need.
"I’m excited about the mission. I think it’s a good challenge for us to get us over here and get in on some of the action that is going on. I know a lot of the guys wanted to come over here and be a part of it, do their part to help out, and this is a great mission to have."
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Raymond Roberts |
The platoon, from Billings, Mont., is a Reserve unit of about 40 soldiers who took over manning the Camp Adder ammunition supply point from the 608th Ordnance Company in April.
The new unit is responsible for collecting ammunition from outgoing units, storing it safely in large metal containers called “CONEXs,” and redistributing it to other units for training or combat missions. A day’s labor usually involves a lot of paperwork and moving around ammunition cans manually or with forklifts. Each load is counted a total of four times before it is given to a unit.
“We have a very important mission to make sure that everybody has the munitions to take care of the safety of this facility and to make sure that they have the munitions to complete all the missions that they are sent out to do,” said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Gary Bruce, an ammunition handler in the unit. “So our mission here is essential to the cause.”
One of the immediate challenges the company soldiers face is the heat. They are often working in the hottest hours of the day, manually moving around crates of ammunition. The transition was especially difficult for the soldiers because just weeks ago they were doing their pre-mobilization training at Fort Riley, Kan., |
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| U.S. Army Cpl. Ryan Lugenbill, an ammunition storage specialist with the 592nd Ordnance Detachment, helps U.S. Army Spc. Kevin Lundby and Spc. Madison Lanaghan unload ammunition from a conex during a "pre-pull," May 8, 2006. |
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| U.S. Army Spc. Martin Krab, an ammunition supply specialist with the 592nd Ordnace Detachment, mans a forklift during an ammunition "pre-pull," May 8, 2006. Krab is one of more than 40 soldiers from the detachment who recently kicked off their tour in Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Spencer Case |
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in temperatures so cold that all the water in the water buffalo would sometimes freeze solid.
“I expected it to be hot but obviously not this hot,” U.S. Army Spc. Madison Lanaghan, 20, of Laurel, Mont., who had been helping move ammunition around in temperatures approaching 110 degrees. “You’re never prepared for that.”
Lanaghan, who left her parents and three younger brothers, said being away from loved ones is “definitely” the hardest part of being deployed.
“I am very homesick. There are a lot of days where you really kind of wish you were back home. But you’re out here for a job and you have to do it to the best of your abilities.”
However, those who have been deployed before know how much better things are now compared to conditions in Iraq a few years ago. Bruce, who was with 1st Marine Division, recalled having showers once a week, and a five minute phone call maybe once every two months if he was lucky. Today, troops have hot meals three times a day, and the opportunity to have daily showers.
“The amenities at the post are way more than we had before,” Bruce said. “Keeping in touch with families is so much easier now.”
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Raymond Roberts, the unit’s noncommissioned officer-in-charge, expressed optimism about the unit’s mission.
“I’m excited about the mission,” said Roberts, who has three children in Dillon, Mont. “I think it’s a good challenge for us to get us over here and get in on some of the action that is going on. I know a lot of the guys wanted to come over here and be a part of it, do their part to help out, and this is a great mission to have.” |
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